CSL helps companies identify and create transformative growth opportunities by applying venture and entrepreneurial best practices to corporate innovation. The CSL Fellows pairs interdisciplinary graduate students with corporate partners for a paid fellowship that provides the students with a dynamic Corporate Innovation experience.
CSL Fellows
Matching interdisciplinary graduate students and corporations for Corporate Innovation Associate experience
The CSL Fellows is a program with the Corporate Startup Lab that pairs interdisciplinary graduate students with corporate partners across industries including fintech, healthcare, and industrial innovation. As a CSL Fellow, students spend ten hours a week working with corporate partners as “corporate venture and innovation associates,” helping with Market Mapping, Opportunity Definition, Go-To-Market Strategy, Due Diligence, and Portfolio Strategy. It is a paid fellowship that spans a semester of work.
Fall 2026 CSL Fellows Applications Now Open!
HOW IT WORKS
• Two Graduate Students are assigned to each sponsor company per semester
• Sponsors and CSL engage weekly to collaborate on direction
• Outside of the weekly meeting, students work independently 10 hours a week with an experienced CSL Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) guiding the work throughout the semester
Examples of work completed
• Portfolio strategy assistance by defining market landscapes and identifying relevant emerging technologies and startups
• Exploration of potential use cases and new product-market opportunities presented by emerging technologies (e.g. AI, Robotics, LLMs)
• Hands-on evaluation and testing
• Competitive analyses through creation of competitive landscapes, financial models, and market sizing
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CSL EIRs and Mentors
Jim Jen
Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship, Tepper
Director, Corporate Startup Lab
Courtney Williamson
Adjunct Professor, Heinz
CEO, AbiliLife Inc.
Lou Musante
Adjunct Professor, Tepper
Founder & Managing Partner, Echo Strategies
JJ Xu
Adjunct Professor, Tepper
Founder & CEO TalkMeUp
Hallie Francis
Academic Program Manager, Corporate Startup Lab
Tepper School of Business
Sponsor Company History
Thank you to our Swartz Center Patrons
